You're right of course. I mean, they interviewed the woman herself, she said it was a really unique atmosphere and that while she was surprised, it didn't seem inappropriate. But you're right, we're in a much better position to pass judgement. What a bastard, hope he burns.

This is what we call a 'topic,' something we at Whitechapel are usually quite good at 'discussing.' The history of this photo is something I definitely didn't understand when I was younger, and it's kind of a big deal in media studies now.

“That man was very strong. I wasn’t kissing him. He was kissing me.”

It seems pretty clear, then, that what George had committed would be considered sexual assault by modern standards. Yet, in an amazing feat of willful blindness, none of the articles comment on this, even as they reproduce Greta’s words for us. Without a single acknowledgement of the problematic nature of the photo that her comments reveal, they continue to talk about the picture in a whimsical, reverent manner, “still mesmerized by his timeless kiss.” George’s actions are romanticized and glorified; it is almost as if Greta had never spoken.

The reckless-jubilation aura of the male held for decades. How about we talk about the helpless surrender of the female for like a minute or two?

I'm not saying I think it's an appropriate way to act, I certainly wouldn't act that way myself, but to bring up this specific man's actions as evidence of a culture that normalises rape and sexual assault on the day of his death turns my stomach a little.Edit: I'm not trying to start a fight, and I agree it's a topic that's got some mileage especially in how the image has been misperceived and immortalised, but right here and now?

Of course, Greta Friedman, as opposed to the blogger who called it sexual assault, said:

"I can't think of anybody who considered that as an assault," said Friedman, who exchanges Christmas cards with Mendonsa every year and has appeared with him at several reunion events. "It was a happy event."

[most people think McDuffie was the sailor, but Eisenstaedt never recorded the names of the sailor and the nurse]

and

"There is just no way that there was anything bad about it," she said. "It was all good news, the best news we'd had for a number of years."

I find it highly amusing that this action is being considered similar to Gypsy grabbing or anything else that links to actual Rape Culture. As a feminist, I see that article as stretching and I don't really see the individual's death a requirement for the discussion as better examples exist to engage the Boys will be Boys sexism of the Rockwellian America.

I think it tells a lot about about rape culture that a woman who was grabbed on the street by surprise by a drunk stranger and kissed against her will while being restrained still feels compelled to say it wasn't an assault.

On March 8, 2014, Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 disappeared from civilian radar. Amid unusual (some say unlikely) theories that the flight may have landed, can we figure out how many runways might be available?The WNYC Data News team found 634 runways in 26 different countries that are both long enough to land a 777 and within range of the flight's last known position

Malaysian government now confirms U.S. reports that Flight 370 flew as many as 7 hours after last radar contact, based on communications with a satellite. Other transponder and communication systems onboard appear to have been deliberately disabled.

Based on the satellite data, the search is now focused on two possible routes: West into the Indian Ocean, or north-west toward central Asia in the direction of Kazakhstan. It is noted, however, that the signals to the satellite could have been sent while the aircraft was grounded so long as electrical power was available. I don't know if it's possible for the signals to have been sent after a crash landing.

And for those wondering why the 'last known position' is two arcs that also stretch halfway to Australia, it's basically impossibly to triangulate a position when you only have one point of data. The actual 'possible' positions are an entire circle, the reason they've cut it to an arc is that the plane didn't have the fuel to reach every possible point in the area the sat signal could've come from.

GPS is pretty damn accurate, but your GPS receiver on the ground needs to be able to speak to at least 3 satellites at once. Ideally more. The signal they're working from here is just a 'keep alive' ping from the system that lets you make phone calls. The kind of thing that isn't even usually tracked.

When this thing eventually turns up, the story is either going to be one of the most insane things ever, or it's going to turn out to be so mundane that a lot of the conspiracy types will be VERY disappointed.

I'm keeping an open mind on this one. There's so many variables in play now.

Happily, as the literary editor of The Independent on Sunday, there is something that I can do about this. So I promise now that the newspaper and this website will not be reviewing any book which is explicitly aimed at just girls, or just boys. Nor will The Independent’s books section. And nor will the children’s books blog at Independent.co.uk